Destiny Twins
by Egyptian Dreamer
Summary: Yoh and Hao are twins separated by birth. Yoh is abused by his foster dad while Hao hates every single human being for corrupting one another and the planet. It seems though that destiny wants these two back together, for both their and the world's sake.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, everyone!**

**I know it might sound weird but I got the idea for this story while doing my homework. And of course, as it was expected I didn't manage to finish it since my mind kept going back to the story. And guess what? I got scolded at school!**

**But I guess I had it coming. On with the story now!**

**CHAPTER ONE**

Loud panting was the only thing that echoed throughout the white room, currently coming from the woman laying on the long hospital bed. Her forehead was all sweaty, black silky smooth strands of hair sticking to her face as she struggled to take big, deep breaths.

"We're almost done. Just one last push." a man with blond hair, clad in white uniform informed her.

At the light squeeze on her hand, the woman turned her head weakly to the side to look at her husband. He had long straight hair, just like hers, the only difference being the color. His was brown. Equal brown eyes stared tenderly at her, wrinkles adorning his usually relaxed forehead.

Despite her exhaustion, the woman managed to give him a faint smile, reassuring him that she was alright. Squeezing her husband's hand back, she took one last deep breath before doing as the doctor instructed.

"Yes, I can see his head. I want you to push as hard as you can now, your baby is almost here." the doctor said, urging her on. The woman perked up at that, her face scrunching up into a painful expression as she gathered all her strength, pouring it into that push.

A cry escaped her lips but was soon joined by the cry of another, this one more loud. She fell backwards onto the bed, a soft smile creeping over her face at the sight of her son cradled in the doctor's arms.

The doctor wrapped the still crying baby into a blanket carefully, before lifting his head to look at the pair with a gentle smile. "Congratulations. You just became the parents of a baby boy."

The brown-haired man beamed, unable to hide his joy. When he looked down at his wife however, he couldn't help the frown that graced his features. The woman's body was shaking, trembling with convulsions.

"Keiko?" the man questioned, panic visible in his voice and effectively catching the doctor's attention. Laying the baby on top of the only other free bed in the room, he quickly strode over the woman, whose convulsions had only gotten worse, and gently placed his hands on each side of her womb.

He drew back a while later, a scowl upon his face. He laid his hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly. Once her eyelashes fluttered open and those tired black eyes landed on him, he gave her a comforting smile. "I know you're exhausted, but I'm afraid I have to ask you to push a little more."

If the woman was confused by his words she never showed it, just gave him a nod of the head as a reply.

"What is going on?" her husband asked worriedly just as his wife began pushing again.

"There's another baby coming." The doctor then proceeded to whisper encouraging words to the panting woman, ignoring the man's shocked expression. With a few more gasps for air and one last anguished cry, Keiko slumped backwards against the mattress.

The doctor repeated his previous actions and wrapped the crying child with a blanket. "Twin boys." the blond man muttered, his voice barely above a whisper, mild shock clearly in his tone.

"Have you decided the names?" he asked, lifting his head to stare at the pair. The brown haired man blinked as if to snap out of whatever daze he was in. "We were going to name him Hao, but now…"

"…Yoh." Both men shifted their attention over to Keiko, who was staring with half lidded eyes at her other son, a small, tired smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Can we name our second child Yoh, Mikihisa?" she asked, this time looking over to the side, at her husband.

"Yoh…" the man muttered quietly, testing the name in his mouth. Slowly, a gentle smile crept onto his face. "It does have a nice ring to it." Keiko smiled, her eyelashes fluttering downwards little by little until they closed completely, exhaustion finally taking its toll on her, leaving her utterly drained.

"I'm going to take these two to clean them up." the doctor informed Mikihisa and after earning an affirmative nod from him, walked over to the bed he had laid the first born child and scooped him up into his arms. Carefully holding both boys close to his chest, the blond man walked out of the room.

He couldn't help but note how quiet everything was as he moved through the different hallways of his private clinic. Even the newborn babies in his arms had stopped crying for quiet some time now. Actually, he realized with a start that the moment they had ceased crying was the moment he had brought them close to each other.

Upon reaching the room he was looking for, he went inside and instantly started cleaning the infants from all the blood that was smeared on them. Then he wrapped them with an extra pair of blankets, just to be sure they'd be warm enough.

'How unexpected.' the doctor thought as he watched the twins sleep soundlessly next to each other. 'For two sons to be born when they were expecting only one.'

Golden eyebrows creased into a frown. 'But then again, this might be the solution to my problem. These people were expecting only one baby, which means they haven't developed any tender feelings for the second one yet.'

His eyes widened evidently when both babies reached out in their sleep, tiny little hands connecting and clasping tightly around one another's.

The doctor acted quickly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a lone, small piece of paper. Taking hold of his cell phone as well, he dialed the number that was embedded into the sheet. The phone rang for a couple of times until someone answered it.

"Yes, this is Faust. I called to let you know that I've decided to take you up on your offer." There was a momentary pause before the doctor, or now known as Faust, went on. "That's right. I'll be waiting for you outside, you better come as soon as possible."

And with that he hung up.

Putting the phone back into his pocket, he let out a long sigh. Then he whirled around and took one last glance at the infants before picking up the firstborn as gently as he could so as not to disturb his peaceful slumber.

The baby grimaced a little when he was scooped up, but didn't stir after that. "Say goodbye to your brother." Faust whispered and then turned on his heels and exited the room, making sure to lock the door behind him. When he entered the room, he found Mikihisa in the same position he had left him. Hovering next to Keiko, his hand stroking her hair soothingly while she slept.

He coughed quietly, immediately catching Mikihisa's attention. "I'm afraid I have some disturbing news for you."

He watched as the man's eyes traveled down to the bundle in his arms, confusion swirling in those brown depths once he realized that there should be another one next to it, before those same eyes doubled in size.

"It seems that the second child was born with a weak heart and when he had to breathe on his own, his heart just couldn't take the pressure."

Faust couldn't help but blink when Mikihisa walked up to him suddenly and held out his arms, eyes refusing to meet with his. Understanding what the man meant by the gesture, he placed the still asleep baby into his arms.

Mikihisa cradled his newborn son gently, going back over to his wife's side. His hand was shaking when he stroked the baby's soft cheek with his index finger.

"I'm sorry about your loss. However, you hadn't been aware of that child's existence till the moment he was born. At least you hadn't bonded with him the way you have with this one." Faust frowned when he got no response back. The other man only brought his son closer to his chest, hugging him tighter, as if afraid that he'd be taken away as well.

"Sir?" the doctor questioned, but still received no answer in return. But he scowled even deeper when he saw a single tear sliding the brown haired man's face.

A certain buzzing sound however brought him out of his shock and right back to reality. Pulling out his phone, he straightened up in an instant the moment he read the message. "Excuse me for a moment." he said but the other made no indication that he had actually heard him.

***)&(***

"We weren't late, were we?" a man asked the moment Faust set foot out of his clinic. The woman that was standing next to the man instantly perked up at the sight of the baby in Faust's arms.

"No, you weren't." Faust answered curtly.

"What made you change your mind about our proposal?" the man asked with a raised eyebrow, causing Faust's eyes to narrow.

"None of your business. Did you bring the amount we agreed?" The man smirked at that. He lifted his arm and threw a black leather back at the doctor's feet. "One million yen. Just like we agreed."

Faust crouched down and after inspecting the content of the bag he stood back to his feet. Glancing one last time at the sleeping infant in his arms, the doctor placed him carefully in the eager woman's arms.

"One last thing." Faust spoke up, making the pair pause in their actions and stare at him with a quizzical look. "One woman gave birth to twins. This one is the younger of the two. His name… is Yoh."

"Yoh…" the woman said after a second, a wide smile spreading over her features. "We won't change his name. I promise."

Faust nodded. At least he felt obliged to grant Keiko's one and only wish about her son after what he just did. Shame was slowly eating him up from the inside as he watched the pair getting into their car and disappearing from sight. The shame he could live with, but losing his beloved forever?

…Never.

"Forgive me, child."

**END OF CHAPTER ONE**

**I'm waiting for your reviews, everyone!**

**Tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, everyone! I managed to make it in time for another update! **

**God, I've got all my other stories that need to be updated and yet for some reason I just seem to be obsessed with this story. I mean, even I am anxious to see if it'll proceed smoothly.**

**But enough of my ranting. Enjoy the next chapter!**

**CHAPTER TWO**

It was quiet. Quiet and chilly. The sun had set a few hours ago, allowing the moon to take over for the time being. But he didn't mind.

In all truth, that was the very reason he was here. The cold left him utterly unfazed, meaning that he could stay there all night long if he so desired. The night had always seemed so inviting to him. The peacefulness and the beauty of it. It fascinated him.

Especially those shining, little dots that came along with the night. But tonight even that seemed to be against him.

Here he was, sitting under that tree for hours straight and just when he had finally started to feel at ease, those damned clouds simply _had_ to come along.

Letting a sigh pass through his lips, he leaned against the trunk, chin slightly tilted upwards and dark brown eyes glaring at those grayish clouds for all it was worth. Yet, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to be annoyed.

Even those plain, ordinary dark clouds, seemed so intriguing. It's not that he hadn't seen clouds like those when he was at Izumo. No, in all honesty, he had spent quiet an amount of nights when he'd feel restless, just like tonight, by simply lying on the soft grass of their garden, gazing at the starry sky.

But for a reason he couldn't quiet place his finger on, he had never felt so relaxed in his homestead. He hated to admit it to himself, but he felt suffocated in that place. It was only when he had moved here at Funbari two years ago that he realized with a start…

He could finally breathe again.

But that never made any sense to him. Why was it that he felt more content when he was away from his family? And he knew that it wasn't one of those rebellious states that all teens seemed to grow through. He just felt irritated whenever he was around them.

"I knew I'd find you here."

The corners of his mouth tilted upwards ever so slightly. He didn't have to turn around to know to whom that voice belonged. He had never expected to run into him of all people though. Well, not that he minded. He had been brooding over such bitter thoughts for quiet a while now, he could really use some distraction.

"Not that I can say the same for you."

He heard his companion chuckle, a slow, relieved sound that revealed to him everything he needed to know. A tiny little smirk made its way onto his face. When the other boy walked over and flopped down next to him, only then did Hao tilt his head to the side to look at him for the first time.

"You ran away, didn't you… Ren?"

He watched as an almost identical smirk graced Ren's features, his own eyes twinkle with amusement, knowing from the other's reaction that his guess was precise.

Ren huffed, hands coming up to rest behind his head as he leaned his back against the tree trunk, onyx eyes glowing mischievously. "You didn't expect me to just sit there and allow that blue haired demon to make my life a living hell, did you?"

A rich laugh passed through Hao's lips at the boy's words. Certainly. He knew first handed that Tao Ren had few to nearly no weaknesses… but patience? Oh, yes. That was definitely something that his fellow friend lacked.

"Come on, Ren. You know that you're just exaggerating. Pirika isn't all that bad. It's actually thanks to her that you've reached such a remarkable state in your shamanic abilities."

Ren's face scrunched up into a grimace, like he could really do without the reminder, before his eyes fluttered close, a gesture that Hao had come to recognize a long time ago as a sign of defeat.

"Does that mean that you feel the same way towards Anna?" Ren said with a small hint of arrogance in his tone, reopening his eyes the moment the words had left his mouth, intent on seeing his companion's reaction.

Hao couldn't help but grimace, mimicking Ren's previous expression, at the very mention of the itako's name. "Surely Ren, you can not compare two entirely different situations. The only thing that those two have in common is their disturbing passion when it comes to our training."

"And they were kind enough to demonstrate that _virtue_ countless of times. It's just that Pirika is so… whiny." Ren concluded, searching for a proper word that best described the blue haired girl.

"You wanna trade?" Hao asked with an all too eager tone, watching with obvious amazement as his counterpart sat up abruptly, black eyes wide with a few traces of fear. _'Yes.' _Hao thought to himself, _'Anna has that effect on people.'_

"Hell. No." Ren shot back, making sure to drag each word to get his point across, and emitting a mirthless chuckle from Hao. "That's what I thought."

A momentary silence enveloped the two shamans, not an awkward one though, before Hao spoke again, "I'm actually surprised that Horohoro stayed in China, while you came to Tokyo. Ever since your engagement with his sister was scheduled, you two have been pretty inseparable."

The Chinese shaman gave a nonchalant shrug, arms folding over his chest. "Pirika would explode if both of us were to disappear without telling her like that."

A devilish grin spread over Hao's face. "So in other words, you intentionally left him behind so that Pirika could take out her anger on him instead of you."

Ren flashed him an all too sinister, toothy smirk. "Well, something along the lines of that." Hao couldn't suppress himself but laugh out loud at the other's antics. Well, he highly doubted that Horohoro would remain all alone with Ren's family _and_ Pirika for much longer anyway.

Ren moved his head to the side, watching with mild interest as his spirit, a massive Chinese warrior, chatted with the other ghosts of the graveyard below, an idea crossing his mind. "How about we have a fight tomorrow? Pirika said that I should focus on the physical training for the time being, therefore wouldn't let me have a real battle with Bason. Honestly, I don't even know why my family allows her to do as she pleases with my training."

"That's probably because they approve of her teaching methods. It's pretty much the same way with Anna, actually." Hao replied, his lips twitching into a small frown momentary before it vanished, "As for the battle, that's fine by me. Spirit of Fire was getting restless as well."

"Of course, you better not think that it will go exactly the same way as the previous time." Hao chuckled, a smirk adorning his features as he stood up and dusted off his clothes. He glanced one last time at the midnight sky, catching a brief glimpse of the white sphere that was the moon before it disappeared behind the clouds again.

"Wouldn't even dream about it, cousin."

***)&(***

Living entirely on your own definitely had its privileges, such as not having a curfew. This was exactly why he had taken the long way home. Even though it was already way past midnight, he didn't feel like going back to the onsen just yet.

A tiny smile crept onto his face at the reminder of his conversation with Ren. He certainly looked forward to their fight. He hadn't been able to see his cousin for more than three months. His aunt, Ren's mother, was a very stern person when it came to her son's abilities. Actually, the exact opposite of her sister, Hao's mother.

The Asakura and the Tao family have been the strongest clans among the shamanic community for centuries, actually from the very moment that shamans were born. Due to that fact, both families decided it'd be best to unite those two clans. It was decided then, that his aunt was to merry the son of the Tao's family leader.

Therefore, as the only male heirs to their families, Ren and himself were supposed to meet the expectations and standards that their clans had set for them. Unlike her sister though, Asakura Keiko, his mother wasn't the type of person that would push her son to his limits. In fact, Keiko had never even scolded him, not once. That was his grandparents' job. 

He didn't mean to boast or anything, but it was a given fact that all shamans in the entire world were aware of his power. A power that was unimaginable and had no match.

Hao Asakura was the only shaman able to control one of the five elemental spirits, the Spirit of Fire. Ren was second after him with his powerful warrior, a fact that always seemed to displease the other boy, but only because his pride was usually the one to take the damage.

But Hao was getting tired.

He had managed to gain the title of the greatest shaman at the way too early age of eight. But as the years passed, something seemed to change inside of him, something just didn't feel right anymore.

Two years ago, when he was eleven, that something finally reached its limits and snapped. Not able to take it any longer, he moved out of his family's residence and came here to Funbari.

But surprisingly enough, he still felt so apathetic.

He was only two blocks away from his home, when a startling banging sound brought him abruptly out of his thoughts.

Blinking a couple of times, he turned around when he realized that the sound had come form the house he had just passed. His eyes went wide however, when a person ran out of the said house and straight… into him.

The force of the collision sent both of them backwards, an involuntary 'oof' escaping his lips as he landed on the ground. Hand coming up to clutch his aching forehead, black eyelids shot open in a deadly glare.

"Bloody hell, watch where you-…" His sentence was left hanging in the air once he caught sight of the person across from him. His dark brown eyes connected with those light brown ones of his double. And for a moment, when they blinked at the same time, Hao thought someone had placed a mirror in front of him.

But he quickly dismissed that thought when he observed the nearly unnoticed differences.

Same auburn hair but shorter than his own. While his went past the waist, his look-alike's reached the length of the shoulders. He wasn't sure, but he got the impression that the boy's eyes were a softer shade of brown, in contrast with his own that was the darkest.

His gaze then landed on that ugly, red mark on the boy's cheek. Was that…? Yes, it seemed like finger marks.

But when the door of the house opened for the second time, the boy's eyes doubled in fear. He stood back to his feet quickly and started running just as a man emerged from the house.

"Brat! Come back here!" the man shouted, hazy green eyes following the fleeing form of the boy before a smirk made its way to his face.

"You'll come back, you always do. Not that you have anywhere else to go." he spat angrily. His eyes then landed on Hao for the first time, who still hadn't moved from his position on the ground and they narrowed instantly.

"What you looking at?" the man snapped and Hao's nose wrinkled in disgust. That man's foul breath reeked of alcohol.

Deciding that the child didn't deserve his time, the green-eyed man turned on his heels and went back inside the house. _'Probably to get even more drunk.'_ Hao concluded.

The thirteen year old stood up, dusted off his clothes and after glancing one last time at the man's retreating back repulsively, he took the way home.

'_Ignorant, foolish humans. The only thing you know how to do is corrupt __the earth and each other.' _Hao thought, his mind going back to that red mark on the other boy's face, knowing well enough that it would develop into a nasty bruise in a couple of hours.

His eyebrows creased into a frown at that thought for some peculiar reason. _'Filthy beings.'_

***)&(***

A long, exasperated sigh passed through her lips. Disappointment was clearly evident on the girl's face as she tossed the coin to the side. She had been trying the fortune telling for hours but nothing had come out of it.

Two small animals were floating at either side of her, gazing with worried eyes as their friend lowered her head, pink strands cascading down her face.

"Still nothing?" the raccoon questioned softly, not wanting to upset her further and earned a weak shake of the head from the girl.

"You shouldn't lose your faith Tamao. Perhaps you couldn't get a result simply because Hao-sama won't be in some kind danger any time soon." the second animal, the fox, said in an attempt to cheer her up.

Tamao raised her head, a small smile tugging at her lips as she looked at them. "Thank you, Ponchi, Konchi."

The animals beamed at her, happy to have achieved their goal. Suddenly, they blinked. They shared a glance between them before looking back over at their friend. "Tamao?" they asked in unison but received no answer in return.

The girl just stared somewhere in space with an unreadable expression on her face. Her usual bright pink orbs seemed to have lost their twinkle and were a fade, dull shade of their old pink.

And then, Tamao opened her mouth.

Both Ponchi and Konchi blinked in puzzlement, not making any sense from the words that spilled out of the girl's mouth. Acting quickly, the raccoon grabbed a sheet of paper and with a wave of its hand, the words that Tamao spoke appeared on the paper more and more words writing themselves as the girl went on.

And just like that, it was over. Tamao's eyes went back to normal before she blinked a couple of times. "Wha-? What was that?" the pink-haired girl asked dazed, looking around the room for a moment as if she couldn't remember where she was, her eyes soon landing on the two spirits.

"Ponchi? Konchi? What happened?"

The raccoon looked uncertainly over at the fox, silently asking for assistance and earned a hesitant nod in return. With a sigh, the raccoon passed her the paper, not needing to explain further.

Tamao blinked at first, a horrified expression taking over her features as she read the content of the paper. Did she actually say all that?

Not allowing herself to dwell on it, she was instantly to her feet and out of the room. She ran through the household as fast as she could, feeling her spirits float behind her mutely. For the first time, she actually cursed the Asakura estate for having to be so huge.

When she finally reached her desired destination, she slid open the door and marched inside, the urgency of the situation making her forget her manners.

"K-Kino-sama…" she managed to breath out while taking in deep gulps of air, pink eyes instantly landing on the sitting form of the elderly woman that was her tutor.

The woman raised her head, eyebrows furrowing in disapproval at the girl's violent intrusion. "What is it, Tamao?"

The girl gulped, cheeks matching the color of her head from the embarrassment. "Uhm, Kino-sama… I was d-doing my daily f-fortune telling a-about Hao-sama's well fare, when I got this s-strange prediction."

"Oh? Strange prediction? Let's hear it then." Kino said, her tone revealing that the girl had now her full attention.

Tamao gulped again. With shaky hands, she raised the piece of paper in front of her face and with one last glance at the elderly woman's direction, she begun reading.

"_They are fading…"_ she paused for a second and watched in her dismay as Kino frowned, _"The Dark one is slowly being devoured by inanity's jaw. And the Light one is beginning to fall apart. The time has come for the soul that was torn in half. They must not lose sight of their path, the Dark and the Light one. For fate has bestowed them with a great future and an even greater purpose. The time has come for the two to be reunited at last. The time has come for the two to merge as one."_

Her hands were still shaking when she lowered the paper, pink eyes staring anxiously at the hunched form of her tutor, wanting to know if any of these made sense to the woman.

"K-Kino-sama?" she questioned uncertainly.

Kino however didn't seem to pay attention to her, she was too engrossed in her thoughts. What was the meaning of this? And why now?

"The soul that was torn in half…" Kino muttered quietly. The gears in her mind started twisting and turning, suspicion surging through her, but refusing to settle down.

"Tamao." the woman announced in resolve, making the girl stand straight, "Tomorrow you'll be leaving for Funbari. I have a feeling that Hao will be in need of your predictions soon. And tell Anna to come with you. I think she was away from her fiancé for long enough."

Tamao just stared at her, pondering the meaning of her words. "As you wish, Kino-sama." she said after a moment and with low bow, she stepped out of the room.

Once the door was securely closed, Kino allowed a weary sigh to pass through her lips. "Good grief. What has that boy gotten himself into this time?"

**END OF CHAPTER TWO**

**Hehe, I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing.**

**Well, things will be getting more interesting from next chapter!**

**Please review! ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi, everyone!**

**I apologize for the long wait but I had been busy with my other stories.**

**Hope you like the newest chapter!**

**CHAPTER THREE**

It's raining. Actually, it's been raining for an hour or so, and from the looks of it, the sky doesn't plan to close up anytime soon.

Usually I love the rain. I enjoy hearing the sound of the raindrops hitting the ground and the feeling of them falling on my skin, it just soothes me.

But not today, though.

Right now, the way that the droplets of water come in contact with my skin, only stings. The usually warm drops for some unexplainable reason feel so icy cold that my skin aches in the place they hit.

Father returned from his work drunk again, but this time I managed to sneak past him without getting noticed. The last time he had caught me on the act, which was only yesterday, is still evident on my cheek.

I know he doesn't mean to get drunk so often, but the death of his wife must have been too hard on him. And not just for him.

We used to be so happy together, the three of us. But then mother had that accident last year and father has never been the same before ever since. Alcohol just seems to be his only way out. I try my best to help him get over it but it's kinda hard when he's drunk most of the time. He's never become too violent, but it's better to not take any chances.

It's been an hour ever since I left home and the skies opened up exactly the moment I stepped foot outside. I'm soaked to the bone and freezing. But I probably shouldn't get back for another hour or two, until father becomes sober.

The moment I feel the all too familiar presences, my body freezes on its own with cold, awful recognition.

With all that rain making my vision blurry, I didn't realize I had reached the graveyard until I stepped right through the gates. Damn, why wasn't I paying attention on my surroundings?

I can feel the first traces of panic seeping through my entire body, freezing my muscles and making my heart pound like crazy in my chest to the point that it feels like it's going to leap out at any moment. Why did I have to come here of all places?

Soon enough, the blurry images and outlines of the ghosts begin to take form, reclaiming the appearance they once held when still alive.

And that's when I bolt forward.

I don't care about where I'm going and trying to make out my surroundings is completely futile thanks to the heavy rain. I just want to get away from them and their eerie presence.

***)&(***

The streets were empty. This time it had nothing to do with the fact that it was fairly late into the night, but mostly about the seemingly nonstop downpour.

A sole figure was the only one wandering about.

The way his long hair stuck to his face didn't seem to faze him in the slightest as it was the only place that had been affected by the cold. His powers were more than capable to keep his clothes from getting wet, after all, keeping the forces of nature at bay was the easiest of tasks for him. He would never risk getting ill, but that didn't mean he could enjoy the rain from time to time.

What had driven him out of his home though, wasn't just to admire the view of the rainy, grey clouds like he had done so many times in the past.

No, this time, it was that unsettling feeling of uneasiness.

It had started in the morning, making him almost unable to focus on his fight with Ren but he had hidden it well. Ren was known for becoming a worrywart from time to time and if his cousin had asked he wouldn't have been able to give a straight answer since he didn't know the cause of that feeling himself.

And that was what he hated the most… not knowing, being caught unprepared.

But the thing was that the peculiar feeling had gotten worse a while ago, causing his stomach to lurch unpleasantly and his mind to race. What the hell was happening?

The last time he had felt something like that was years ago when that earthquake had shaken the entire Japan. He hadn't been the only one, though. Every shaman on the earth had sensed it before the actual incident had occurred. Shamans, after all, were directly linked with nature.

Which was exactly why he had decided to go out, just as the nature had pointed out. Because this wasn't just any rain. It had come out of nowhere when the sky was clear of all clouds and it had developed into a full blown storm in just a few minutes.

He didn't have a specific destination in mind, just let his instinct take over.

His face broke into a scowl however, when he scanned the place that his feet had led him to. A place that he knew all too well.

Walking into the graveyard with sure, steady steps, he didn't even blink when its residents arose from their resting places and bowed their heads towards him. Not even bothering to return the gesture, he made his way over to his usual spot on the hill.

A few feet away from the tree he occupied though, he froze. His spot was already claimed.

Eyes narrowing with suspicion, he moved closer, studying the figure that was sitting on the ground. This time, had did make him blink, wasn't the fact that the figure appeared to be sleeping against the tree trunk, but the fact that he knew that person.

Yes, it was that boy he had met last night.

After better observation, he realized that the boy was in fact unconscious, not sleeping. And from the scarlet flush that colored his obviously pale face, the boy seemed to be running a high fever. His whole body was shivering under the cruel treatment of the weather too.

Snorting at the kid's idiocy to stay out so late and with such a weather, Hao reached out a hand to the other boy's forehead, to confirm what he already suspected.

The moment his palm came in contact with the flaming forehead however, the boy's eyes snapped open with a start, to reveal unfocused, blurry brown orbs. Freezing, blue lips parted and with an inaudible whimper, the boy grabbed Hao's hand with a speed of a starved person and nuzzled his cheek dazedly into the warm palm.

Lips curling into a growl, Hao snatched his hand back, disgusted with the mere thought of being touched by a useless human.

The effect was instantaneous. The boy opened his lips to cry out but no sound came out. Then, he lifted his trembling arm in a weak attempt to reach out to the blissful warmth he needed. But his condition seemed to take the better of him since a moment later, the arm landed limply back to his side. His head soon followed, falling defeated against the surface of the trunk.

For a moment, all time seemed to stop, the very air stilling as brown connected with brown. And Hao knew one thing. The feeling had gone away, leaving his stomach strangely warm, something that he was certain had nothing to do with his powers.

But then, when his look-alike's eyes closed as the boy was once again forced into unconsciousness, the magic was gone.

Infuriated with himself, Hao whirled around, intent on leaving that place and return to his much dryer home. He spared the figure one last glance above his shoulder, taking in the soaked clothes that hung to his body like a second skin, the unhealthy paleness due to the cold and the bruised lips.

Not that it was his problem! The boy had no business outside at such a time. It wasn't his fault that the other was such a fool.

…Right?

Cursing under his breath, Hao spun around. With one swift motion, he had crouched down, scooping the boy into his arms and standing back up.

"Spirit of Fire." he called out and his faithful servant was right at his side, appearing in a gust of swirling flames and hovering in the open before the hill.

Walking towards it, he watched those ever bright green eyes studying the form in his arms, whether or nor it was due to the resemblance or because of the fact that its master wasn't known for his kindness, Hao didn't know.

With no further delay, the Spirit held out his arm, palm stretched upwards so that its master could climb up.

Jumping onto the hand with the grace of a feline, Hao nodded at the Spirit, indicating for it take off. Sighing when the familiar sensation of invisibility fell over him like a cloak that would keep them tugged away from any unwanted attention, Hao turned his gaze downwards.

The boy had finally ceased shivering now that the Spirit's fire magic had covered them both, shielding them from the harsh wind and the storm. His lower lip however was still trembling even though they were beginning to regain their usual color back.

Rolling his eyes, Hao pressed his palm flat against the boy's forehead, concentrating on his fire magic that he had acquired as a result of gaining the eternal loyalty of the Spirit of Fire, and sending more waves of warmth into his body. Just as expected, his lip quivered no more and the boy's expression finally transformed into one of peacefulness.

That sight gave Hao a peculiar urge to smile, and for some even more peculiar reason, he didn't fight it.

**END OF CHAPTER THREE**

**I know it was a bit short, but I wanted to make them meet finally.**

**Please, review! **


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